


Catch Me If You Can

by Frostly



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Accidental Mating, Alpha Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Alpha Ruts, Alpha rejection, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Denial, First Meetings, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jongin is... well, Kissing, Knotting, Lots of it, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Kim Jongin | Kai, Pining, Semi-Public Sex, Smut, he's a little stubborn and stupid but he gets there, i know how it sounds but i promise it's not that bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:01:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22321486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostly/pseuds/Frostly
Summary: Jongin's first year of university gets off to a great start. Yup.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 34
Kudos: 240





	Catch Me If You Can

**Author's Note:**

> mmmmmmmm hi  
> so  
> this fic  
> i got the idea for it last year, like in march. i put it on hold because i didnt feel ready to write a longer fic again yet, but it just wouldn't leave me alone, my mind was plagued with ideas for new scenes and wistful, pining thoughts for it so then i finally gathered up the courage to just write it. i started in october orz and boy did this little bitch give me a hard time :))
> 
> but,,, it's done now. ish. i am not 100% satisfied with it and that's a pity because i love this idea so much but there's not much else i can do at this point, i have to let it go
> 
> hopefully you guys will like it more than i do (pls do)
> 
> enjoy reading!

Jongin stirs, slowly shifting on the bed. The smell clinging to the pillow and sheets is the same he’s been waking up to since he was little. Citrusy, like his mom’s favourite fabric softener, airy clean and fresh, but with that underlying sugary sweetness that constantly tinges the air around him wherever he goes, his own omega scent. It’s comforting, it smells of home and familiar things, but this is definitely not his room. There’s light streaming through a window he’s never had over his bed and the mattress he’s lying on feels different from the one he’s used to. 

It’s disorienting, but when he blinks his eyes open and sees Sehun sitting cross-legged on a bed across from him, everything clicks back into place. 

Right. Dorm room. College. Orientation Day. 

Sehun looks up from his laptop when Jongin finally sits up, sleepily rubbing his eyes. 

“Wakey, wakey.”

Jongin hums as he cards a hand through his messy hair. It’s still a little damp from the shower he took after unpacking. He yawns. “What time is it?”

“Uh,” Sehun checks his laptop screen. “Three p.m.”

Jongin’s stomach drops, sleep scattering. “What?!” he clambers off the bed and runs to his dresser, throwing open the first drawer. “Why didn’t you wake me up?! We’re so late!”

“ _We_ are late?” Sehun asks with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah?” Jongin says, throwing on the first tee that comes to hand. “Freshman orientation started an hour ago!”

“I don’t have orientation today,” Sehun says slowly as he watches Jongin hopping into his jeans. “Mine is scheduled for tomorrow. Y’know, for _my_ major.” 

That makes Jongin pause. Fuck, Sehun is right. Orientation programs are organized by major, Jongin completely forgot. 

“Fuck.”

Sehun snorts, shaking his head with a smile as he looks back to his laptop. “Hurry.”

Jongin slips on his shoes and grabs his phone before bolting out the door. 

“See you later!”

There aren’t many people around campus, classes start in a week and most of the students that are already here are still settling into their dorms, so the hallways are fairly empty. Luckily, with the way Jongin is running like a madman. 

It’s also a miracle he doesn’t get lost, still unfamiliar with the campus layout, but thankfully he seems to take all the right turns, literally skidding to a halt in front of the classroom where the orientation is held.

To his chagrin, the room is empty when he enters. There’s only one person, whom Jongin assumes is a student, standing in front of the professor’s desk with his back to the door, bent over some papers.

“I’m so sorry,” Jongin gets out, trying to get his laboured breathing under control. “I’m here for the orientation but I’m late. Canー can I still participate?”

The student chuckles. “You still can, it’s alright,” he says, back still turned. Jongin can’t help but notice how _nice_ his voice sounds, melodious and soft. It’s strangely soothing, and he feels himself relax. “This is why I’m here. There’s always someone who comes running in at the last second.”

Jongin gives a sheepish laugh at that and starts walking closer to the desk. The student looks shorter than him, wearing a simple white hoodie and jeans. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Kim Jongin.” 

“Alright, Jongin,” the students says, quickly writing down Jongin’s name before straightening up. “I’m Minseok and this will beー” 

It happens in a split second then. 

A scent, rich, spicy, of _alpha_ , hits him, hard, hurling at him the moment Minseok turns around, and when their eyes meet, Jongin halts in his steps, sucker punched. 

Everything blurs, Jongin’s vision swimming as the world goes out of focus for a second, and then something inside him stirs. His chest squeezes, his heart starts pounding, and there are no thoughts in Jongin’s mind other than the clear, absolute certainty that standing in front of him is _his_ alpha.

A sudden surge of heat rushes down his spine, seeping into the pit of his belly, and he feels a dribble of slick leak out of his hole. His head spins. He sways on his feet and stumbles forward dizzily, his inner omega, now awake and restless, clawing at him to move, to get closer to the alpha, his _mate_ , who is looking at him with eyes wide with shock and something a lot akin to wonder. 

Step by unsteady step, Jongin’s legs feeling almost too heavy to carry, Jongin reaches Minseok, breath shaky, the spice of his scent overpowering from this up close. 

Minseok opens his arms and Jongin’s knees buckle as he all but falls into his chest, a shudder going through his body as he’s enveloped in his alpha’s warmth, his scent, and he breathes it in deeply, mouth slack. He feels feverish, the heat coursing in his veins almost painful, turning his blood hot like lava, making his whole body pulse needily for relief, for more.

“Alpha,” he whimpers and Minseok’s eyes, pupils dilated, flutter closed for a second before he raises a hand to cup Jongin’s cheek. The touch makes Jongin’s skin burn and another pitiful noise slips from his lips. 

Minseok’s eyes roam all over Jongin’s face as he dips down to press the softest of kisses to his lips, almost reverent. A jolt shoots throughout Jongin’s body at the contact, like a shock of electricity, and he surges forward to deepen the kiss, urgently pushing his tongue into Minseok’s mouth. 

Minseok moans and buries his hand in Jongin’s hair, pulling him in to kiss him hungrily, keep him firmly against his mouth. He tastes spicy too, addictive just like his scent, and Jongin feels himself unravel as he clings to Minseok's hoodie, whining uncontrollably, needly, more slick leaking out of his hole.

“Alpha,” he pleads, panting. “ _Alpha_.”

Minseok pulls back, eyes burning, the same scorching need reflected in them, permeating his scent. “It’s okay,” he says, holding Jongin tighter to his chest as he spins them around. “It’s okay, I’ll take care of you.” 

Jongin is pliant as Minseok bends him over the desk, paper crinkling loudly under his body, and he presses back into his alpha’s chest when Minseok drapes himself over his back, blanketing him with his scent.

Minseok noses across Jongin’s shoulders, trailing his mouth over his nape before burying his face in the crook of his neck. His warm, wet tongue sneaks out, licking the soft skin there, and a low rumble starts from deep within Minseok’s chest, his hips beginning to grind slow circles against Jongin’s ass, territorially. 

Jongin keens, the wet touch shooting straight to his core, arousing a desire, an ache never felt before, and he cranes his neck as Minseok keeps laving the spot, feeling his whole being yearn for it, for the bite, the claim.

He pushes back into Minseok’s crotch, pressing his ass flush against the bulge of Minseok’s hard cock, mewling as he feels it dig in between his cheeks with every grind of Minseok’s hips. It feels so firm, so hot, even through all the clothes, and Jongin’s hole throbs, achingly empty. 

Jongin wants it, he _wants_ it, the heat feeling unbearable now, clouding his mind with the single, feverish need to be taken and filled full of his alpha. 

One of Minseok’s hands slides down Jongin’s chest then and Jongin’s breath stutters when it reaches the waistband of his jeans. Minseok undoes the fly easily and quickly pushes the jeans down Jongin’s thighs, together with his underwear, wet through with slick.

Jongin cants his hips as Minseok’s hand cups his ass, whining to direct his alpha where he needs him the most, and a loud moan rips from his throat when Minseok finally slips his fingers between his cheeks and pushes two inside his hole. 

The alpha nips at the crook of Jongin’s neck as he works his fingers, sharp little grazes of teeth that turn the skin ruddy, the rumble in his chest steady, mingling with Jongin’s whining moans. 

Jongin grips the desk as Minseok’s fingers move inside him, their pace feeling almost like a tease to Jongin as they explore, trace, rub, making him push and writhe, good but not _enough_. 

“Alpha,” Jongin gasps as Minseok presses a third finger inside him. Slick slides down his thighs. “Alpha, _please_.” 

Minseok obliges, pulling his fingers out and quickly undoing his own jeans. He grips Jongin’s hips and begins pressing his cock into Jongin, sinking deep inside him with one long, steady thrust. 

Relief and satisfaction flood Jongin’s body at once, his alpha finally inside him, where he belongs. Minseok’s cock is thick, hot, a perfect fit. It stretches him wide, making him feel full, complete, and when Minseok starts moving, it glides smoothly in and out of his hole, like it was made to be inside him.

Moans spill freely from Jongin’s mouth as his alpha fucks him over the desk, chest tightening with a sense of wholeness he never thought he would experience quite so clearly, and never from the sex act alone. Nothing has ever felt this good, this right.

Fresh slick spills on every pull out, coating Minseok’s cock and smearing messily all over Jongin’s ass and thighs, the classroom resounding with the filthy wet sound of skin slapping together, the incessant rustling of paper. 

A pressure against Jongin’s hole cuts through the haze of pleasure, growing firmer the more Minseok’s cock slips in and out of his body, and Jongin lets out a loud moan when he realizes it’s Minseok’s alpha knot, tugging at his rim as it swells. 

He arches his back, pressing back into his alpha’s thrusts to get it to slide in and lock inside him, but Minseok wraps his arms around him and pulls him flush against his chest, keeping him still as he speeds up.

It makes Jongin cry out, fingers scraping on the wood of the desk as Minseok drives into him hard and fast, angling his hips just right to slam into his prostate, making him wail. Tears prick at Jongin’s eyes, half from pleasure half from frustration. He wants Minseok’s knot, he wants _all_ of his alpha, but then Minseok reaches down to start pulling at his cock and any thought flies out of his mind. 

The pleasure bursts, stealing his breath, and Jongin comes with a high whimper, body jerking as he spills all over the desk. 

The rumble in Minseok’s chest grows louder and he keeps fucking Jongin through his orgasm, teeth secured onto his neck but not enough to break skin, until he shoves in one last time and stays, spurting long and deep inside him. 

Jongin goes boneless as he feels Minseok’s hot, thick cum coating his walls, breath rushing out of him as it fills him up, marking him from the inside.

Minseok is gentle as he lowers them onto the desk once again, nuzzling Jongin’s neck while they catch their breaths, kissing the sweaty skin, his scent radiating contentment. 

Slowly, as his heart starts to slow down, Jongin feels his head clearing up and alarm starts to set in. The glaze lifts from his eyes, the overwhelming need to be closer, the want, the yearning clouding his senses, all fade away and the only thing Jongin is left with is a cold feeling.

He just mated with a stranger. In a classroom. A stranger that he knows in his _guts_ is his _mate_. 

Panic crawls up his throat, making his scent spiral, and Jongin squirms under Minseok’s weight, trying to get away. 

The rumble in Minseok’s chest ceases, confusion mingling with the contentment in his scent, but he carefully lifts himself off Jongin and Jongin stumbles out from underneath him, grimacing when Minseok’s still hard cock slips out of his hole, knot swollen at the base, his inner omega whining forlornly at having to be separated from the alpha. 

Jongin immediately feels cold, almost unbearably so, but he hastily pulls his jeans back up as he backs away. Minseok looks alarmed, watching Jongin with confusion and concern in his eyes. He looks like he wants to reach out and Jongin swallows thickly, trying his hardest to resist the urge to go back to him. 

It scares him. 

Minseok opens his mouth but Jongin turns on his heel before the alpha can get a word out, and runs out of the classroom. 

Jongin’s heart hammers in his ears as he runs back to his dorm, his mind spinning frantically as it tries to make sense of what had just happened. Jongin mated with someone who is a complete, total stranger, someone he’s seen for the first time _today_ , the first day he’s ever stepped foot on this campus. He doesn’t even know how it happened. Alphas were the last thing on his mind, let alone finding his own and _mating_ with him. He can’t believe how his instincts just took over his body like that. 

The few people wandering around turn their heads as Jongin passes by them and who could really blame them. He must be reeking of sex and panic and alpha arousal. The feeling of Minseok’s cum trickling out of his hole and down his thighs only adds to his shame. 

Cheeks burning, Jongin runs faster, not stopping until he’s reached his room. 

“Hey,” Sehun greets when Jongin barges in, slamming the door shut behind himself. “That was fast, did youー” he abruptly cuts himself off as he recoils, Jongin’s scent no doubt having reached his nose, and he stares at his best friend in disbelief. “What the fuck happened to you?” 

Breath ragged, Jongin doesn’t look at him as he leans back against the door, staring straight ahead instead. He swallows before answering. “I found my mate.”

Sehun’s eyes widen and a tentative smile works its way across his face as he sets aside his laptop. “That’s great… whoー”

“We had sex.”

Sehun blinks, taken aback. “Y-You mean…”

Jongin doesn’t have to see his face to know what he’s asking. If Jongin found his _mate_ and then had sex with him, it means they have mated and it feels so big, _too_ big. 

“Yeah.”

“ _How_?” Sehun shakes his head. “What happened?”

Jongin lets out a deep, weary breath and closes his eyes. That’s a good question he doesn’t have an answer for. Not one that makes sense, at least. He sighs.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t... I don’t know,” Jongin repeats in a weak voice. “I just… he was there and… I smelled him…” 

He feels a lurch in his chest as he thinks back to Minseok’s spicy scent, wrapping all around him like a blanket. He can smell it on himself even now, under everything else. 

“And?” Sehun prompts him.

“We looked at each other and then it just… I don’t know, it felt like the world tipped over. It’s as if something inside me woke up? All of a sudden?” Jongin knows he’s not making much sense, but he hardly understands what happened himself and everything is just too confusing. “It felt… it felt like I went into heat? Somehow... and I felt this _pull_. All I knew was that I had to go to him and… and be close to him... touch him. I just _had_ to.”

That feeling still lingers, Jongin’s inner omega restless, agitated, but he’s too uncomfortable with the whole situation for it to go anywhere. It just simmers there under the surface, adding to his unease.

Jongin turns to his best friend, almost pleadingly. Sehun is looking at him with wide eyes. 

“Shit.”

Jongin lets out a distressed whine, head thumping back against the door. “I’m fucked.” 

“Literally.” 

Jongin ignores him. “What am I going to do? We mated in a fucking classroom. With the fucking door open.”

“Semi public sex,” Sehun wriggles his eyebrows playfully. “Didn’t know you were so kinky, Jongin.”

Jongin glares at his best friend but there’s a small smile tugging stubbornly at his lips nonetheless. He takes a deep breath. He’s grateful to have Sehun, he can be a pain in the ass, but Jongin appreciates how he always manages to make him smile. It helps make the whole situation feel even just a little less daunting.

“How did you guys deal with the… y’know... knotting?” Sehun asks, then.

Jongin looks down at the floor at that, avoiding Sehun’s eyes. 

“We didn’t,” he mumbles after a second. “I, uh… I ran away.”

“You _what_?”

Jongin doesn’t like Sehun’s tone. 

“I got scared!” he says defensively. “He didn’tー he didn’t actually knot me,” Jongin’s inner omega yowls indignantly to show just what it thinks about that as Jongin stumbles over his words. “When we were done, I just... I just pulled away.”

“But shit, to leave the poor guy like that…” Sehun winces sympathetically. 

Jongin frowns at the floor. He does feel bad, a neglected knot can be very painful for an alpha, even more so when it comes to mating, and a part of him that Jongin can’t seem to be able to shut up, encouraged by his inner omega, just _yearns_ to go back to his alpha and take care of him properly. But it’s also this very same urge and how _strong_ it is, almost more than this whole crazy situation, that scares him and makes him want to run away all over again.

“This doesn’t happen everyday,” Sehun shakes his head slowly as he gazes thoughtfully down at his bed covers. “People don’t just get… _overwhelmed_ like that.” He looks up at Jongin then, looking kind of impressed. “Your bond must be something else.”

Jongin flinches at that, a new swell of panic surging through his chest. “Shut up! Don’t say stuff like that!” 

“Think about it,” Sehun presses on. “You said you felt a _pull_ and you went into a semi _heat_? That’s not normal?”

Jongin pushes off the door as Sehun speaks and stalks to his dresser to get a change of clothes, vigorously shaking his head in an attempt to block out his best friend’s voice. He doesn’t want to hear any of this nonsense. He can’t. 

“Like, you and this alphaー”

Jongin interrupts him before he can finish. 

“Listen, I don’t want to think about this right now, okay? Or what it might possibly mean. I just... want to take a shower and try to forget about today.”

Sehun stares at him for a moment. He looks like he wants to press the issue, but then simply nods. Jongin relaxes. 

“Okay,” Sehun says and opens his arms. “Come here.” 

Jongin doesn’t need to be told twice and gratefully sinks into his best friend’s embrace, filling his nose with his sweet omega scent, a little syrupy like honey, familiar and comforting. 

“You scared me,” Sehun whispers, stroking a hand up and down Jongin’s back. “I thought you were attacked and who knows what else.”

“Sorry,” Jongin mumbles and rubs his nose into the underside of Sehun’s jaw to give him some comfort in return.

Sehun gives him one last squeeze and lets him go. “Go take that shower now.” He looks Jongin in the eyes. “You stink.”

Jongin smiles at him and grabs his toiletry bag before leaving. He walks to the bathroom as fast as he can, keeping his head low as he passes the other omegas out in the hallways. He only relaxes once the door of the shower stall is safely closed behind him, sighing as he steps under the jet of water, hotter than what he’d usually go for. 

He does his best to keep Minseok out of his head as he thoroughly soaps himself up, but when he reaches between his legs to clean his hole of all the slick and cum, he can’t stop his thoughts from wandering off, chest clenching with unbidden longing as he thinks back to how right it had felt to have the alpha inside him, how complete it had made him feel, and his throat closes up as he remembers Minseok’s lonely, concerned face when he had pulled away.

He pushes two fingers inside his hole to finish cleaning himself anyway, but he’s only hit with a sense of loss at not having been knotted by his alpha, his inner omega whining mournfully. 

He resolutely pushes the feeling back down, but one of his hands strays to his neck as he leans back against the wall with a sigh, to the spot where Minseok had licked and nipped avidly, the skin a little tender to the touch. 

He feels a rush of emotions, and grits his teeth, trying with all his might to convince himself he did the right thing in leaving.

***

  
  


A week later, it’s the first official day of classes and Jongin has mostly managed to put Minseok and the “accident” behind himself. 

He had gone to the nearest pharmacy first thing the next morning to buy emergency contraception and to the doctor’s office right after that to get a prescription for birth control pills. He’s not risking any unwanted pregnancies again. 

He could have gotten one for heat suppressants too, but even though the fact that he had suddenly gone into some kind of semi heat freaks him out, taking them has a high chance of leading to infertility and that’s something Jongin knows he doesn’t want. He’s definitely not ready now, but he still wants to be able to have children someday and he doesn’t want to rule out the possibility altogether by taking suppressants at his age. 

For his part, Sehun hasn’t brought up the issue again, even though Jongin catches him giving him concerned looks from time to time, and apart from the occasional bursts of longing and Minseok’s face stubbornly sitting at the back of his mind, Jongin is doing fine. He’s where he wants to be, getting an education in his university of choice, having fun with his best friend. He’s fine, perfectly fine. 

The sentiment is only reiterated as he walks out of his literature class with a smile, his last one before lunch break. The professor didn’t kick off the course with anything specific, simply introducing the course’s structure to the students and discussing the syllabus, but Jongin had enjoyed every minute of it. 

He reaches for his back pocket, meaning to text Sehun he’s done with class and to meet him in front of the cafeteria, but then his nose picks up the tendrils of a scent, spicy and familiar and _coming closer,_ and Jongin feels his stomach drop just as his inner omega perks up. His eyes dart up and sure enough, he sees Minseok rounding one of the corners at the end of the hallway, walking in the opposite direction. Jongin’s inner omega keens wantonly.

Jongin watches, frozen, as Minseok’s nose twitches and the alpha immediately stops talking to the person walking alongside him to look up, alert. Their eyes meet, almost instantly, and Jongin feels like he’s been hit by a freight train.

Minseok’s eyes are filled with a mixture of relief, worry and longing, that same damn longing that’s been tormenting Jongin for days, sneaking up on him out of the blue and making his heart _ache_ , and that is now pulling at Jongin’s guts and making his inner omega restless. 

And suddenly Jongin is not fine, he’s not fine _at all_. His chest tightens, he can't draw a big enough breath, the air getting stuck in his throat as he panics. He can’t be here. 

Minseok calls his name, takes a step forward, but much like how he had done a week ago, Jongin turns and runs. He runs and runs, blindly, ignoring his inner omega whining desperately at him, until he runs smack dab into Sehun, of all people. 

“Jongin,” Sehun says, grabbing him by the shoulders. His eyes widen as he takes in his flushed face and the agitation souring his scent. “What?”

“Minseok,” Jongin gulps. “I saw him.”

“Who?” 

“The alpha,” Jongin insists, trying to get his heart to slow down, but it feels like a losing battle. “Myー _my_ alpha.” 

“Oh,” Sehun blinks, and then looks at Jongin intently. “Did you talk to him?”

Immediately, Jongin shakes his head. “No, I couldn’t, I couldn’t.” 

Sehun looks at him disbelievingly. “Did you run away again?”

Jongin cringes. “... Yes?”

Sehun lets out an incredulous breath. He looks just about ready to give him an earful and Jongin shrinks under his best friend’s disapproving stare, feeling much like a misbehaving child. 

But Sehun only sighs, pressing his lips together into a thin line.

“You being all frantic and scaring me is becoming a pattern, you know.” 

Jongin looks down, feeling shame curl in his chest, and says nothing, biting his lip. There’s not much he could say anyway. 

“Come on,” Sehun says, then, brisk, but he takes Jongin’s hand. “Let’s get lunch, I’m starving.”

Only then does Jongin realize they’re standing just a few feet away from the cafeteria. With a nod, he follows Sehun inside, but he doesn’t feel that hungry anymore. 

He spends lunch picking at his food, giving Sehun his full focus when he talks about his new classes and professors, but it’s mostly an attempt to shut Minseok’s face out of his mind.

He doesn’t talk much himself because he’s afraid of where his mind will go and what will actually come out of his mouth. And if he talks about it, then it means he has to acknowledge everything that’s happened and he’s not ready to do that. He doesn’t know when he will be, so in the meantime he will ignore everything, especially his inner omega, screaming at him to just go to his alpha.

***

  
  


One of the novelties Jongin likes the most about university is the presence of on-campus cafés and coffee shops. The campus offers a decently varied selection, but there’s one particular café that Jongin has already grown fond of. It’s tiny, huddled in between the literature building and the labs. The interior is warm and cozy, round tables and a couple of small sofas taking up most of the space, but it’s not cramped. The barista is another student, an almond scented beta named Yixing who’s always leafing through lecture notes whenever he’s not serving customers. Jongin likes him, he’s pleasant and makes hot chocolate just how Jongin likes it. With lots of whipped cream. 

From what Jongin has seen since he’s started coming more regularly, the café is not very frequented, for some reason, but Jongin likes it better this way. It makes for a great spot to study or kill time between classes, there’s no rushing of people and the students who do come are quiet and keep to themselves. 

The rich aroma of coffee tickles Jongin’s nose even as he pulls the glass door open and he takes a deep breath as he ducks inside. He doesn’t like to drink coffee, but he enjoys the smell of it, far more inviting than its bitter taste. 

“Morning,” he greets when he reaches the counter.

Yixing looks up from the scribbles on his notes. Lots of geometric shapes and complicated looking formulas. “Jongin,” he says, his dimpled smile making one tug automatically at Jongin’s lips. “You’re earlier than usual.”

Jongin hums, nodding his head. “I start a new course in a couple of weeks and it’s an eight am class,” he says ruefully. “Figured I’d try getting up earlier, pick up the habit… don’t think it’s gonna work, though.”

Yixing chuckles. “That’s rough. Hot chocolate as pick me up?”

“ _Please_.” 

Yixing smiles and turns around to busy himself with the coffee machine. Jongin looks down at the display cabinet as he waits, debating whether to get a muffin to save for later, when suddenly spice mingles with the aroma of coffee. 

“Jongin.”

Jongin whips around, heart skipping a beat as he comes face to face with Minseok. The alpha gives him a tentative smile and takes a step forward. He doesn’t get closer than that, keeping a mindful distance from Jongin. 

“Can we talk?” 

He looks careful, like he’s dealing with a skittish animal ready to run, and Jongin figures it’s not that far from the truth, considering his track record with the alpha. He also looks cautiously pleased, kind of, somehow, maybe precisely because Jongin hasn’t actually turned tail and _run_ yet. Jongin doesn’t know why either. Or maybe he does, but he won’t go into that. 

“My table is just over there,” Minseok continues, pointing over his shoulder at a table closer to the back of the café, an open laptop and a mug of coffee sitting on top of it, and Jongin wonders how he didn’t catch whiff of his scent as soon as he stepped inside. It’s all he can smell now. “We could sit down?”

“Your hot chocolate,” Yixing says quietly, looking between the two of them as he sets a mug on the counter. 

“Please?” Minseok says, reaching into his back pocket to take out his wallet, and Jongin watches as he hands his debit card to Yixing without ever looking away from Jongin’s face, paying for his order as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. As if it was something he would do again a thousand times. Something he would do naturally, for Jongin. “I’d really like to talk. I won’t take much of your time.”

Jongin swallows as he stares into the alpha’s hopeful eyes and the answer is out of his mouth before he can even try to stop it. “Okay.”

A smile spreads across Minseok’s face, his scent spiking with pleasure, and Jongin’s chest tightens with a feeling he doesn’t want to name. 

“Thank you,” Minseok says.

Jongin takes his hot chocolate and mumbles a weak thanks to Yixing before following Minseok to his table. He sits down stiffly, nervously clutching his hot chocolate in his hands, its warmth bleeding into his suddenly chilled fingers.

“Do you come here often?” Minseok asks as he shuts his laptop and sets it aside to make more space for Jongin. 

He’s still smiling at Jongin and the sight is even worse from this up close. It’s a beautiful smile, and Jongin can see how easily it could become his favourite.

“Yes,” Jongin answers. “It’s quiet, I like that.”

Minseok nods, his smile stretching softly. “It’s a great place to study,” he agrees. “I always come here after I’m done at the labs. Or when I have a free hour. Their chocolate chip cookies are amazing.”

Jongin nods along, a tiny smile of his own curving his lips involuntarily. He’s tried those cookies too once and they were indeed amazing, chewy and delicious. But his favourite remains the blueberry muffins. 

He says it without thinking.

“My favourite are the blueberry muffins.”

“Yeah?” Minseok says, looking so happy to learn something about Jongin, his scent blooming with it. “Mine is sugar cookies.”

There’s something wistful in his eyes as he says so, as he looks at Jongin, and Jongin gets the feeling that there’s something more to it, an additional meaning to the words he can’t quite catch.

“And Yixing is always on shift, have you noticed?” Minseok continues with a quirked eyebrow, leaning forward a little. “I swear he’s the only person I’ve ever seen standing behind that counter and yet he still manages to attend all of his classes. I have no idea how he does it.” 

That’s exactly what Jongin has been wondering for a while and unexpectedly, a laugh bubbles out of his mouth. Minseok beams at him. 

“Me neither,” Jongin says and silence falls between them, eyes locked as they just stare at each other.

The more he looks, the more helplessly Jongin feels drawn to Minseok. The alpha is gorgeous, truly gorgeous, and Jongin likes what he sees too much. The slope of Minseok’s nose, his dark brown eyes, the shape of his lips. It all makes something stir inside Jongin’s chest, and down in his belly. 

The way Minseok’s blonde hair falls softly over his forehead, coupled with the dark green hoodie he’s wearing, make him look soft and warm, like Jongin could fall asleep tucked to his chest, in his arms, and be perfectly comfortable and safe. While the breadth of his shoulders, the hint of firmness, of definition Jongin can see under the thick layer of fabric all gives away how solid and strong the alpha is. Something Jongin is already intimately familiar with. 

Swallowing down the thickness in his mouth, Jongin forces his eyes away, fixing them on the mountain of whipped cream on top of his hot chocolate.

“So,” Minseok begins then, clearing his throat, his smile fading to make way for a more serious expression to take place on his face. “I’ve been worried about you.” 

Jongin’s inner omega whines softly for the alpha and Jongin chastises it for being so easy, pointedly ignoring the flutter in his own chest.

“When you left that day, I didn’t go after you. I get why you ran, it was… the whole situation was crazy,” Minseok shakes his head. “You looked pretty freaked out and I didn’t want to make it worse by following you. You needed space, clearly. And I didn’t try to find you the following days either, even though it was really… really hard...” he trails off at that, looking down at his coffee, but quickly shakes himself and continues speaking. “But I’ve been thinking about you non stop and I’ve justー I’ve been so worried about youー I really need to know, did I hurt you?”

Jongin looks up at the question and starts when he sees the distress lining Minseok’s handsome face. It makes his heart clench painfully. 

“No,” he blurts out with a quick shake of his head. “No, I’m fine, you didn’t hurt me.”

Minseok slumps back against his chair with a sigh. “Thank god.” 

Jongin bites his lip. He figures he should probably also thank Minseok for not knotting him, because even if his inner omega rears its head at the fact, he’s still grateful to the alpha. Considering how he reacted, being tied together would have just made everything worse, Jongin thinks. He’s also impressed with the alpha, it couldn’t have been easy for him, to hold back in that moment. It must have taken a lot of restraint, an _immense_ effort, if he had been even half as overcome with the mating as Jongin had been. 

But the words stick to the back of Jongin’s throat, and he stays silent. 

“I’m so glad,” Minseok says. “I mean, we didn’t even use a condom.” 

He turns contrite eyes at Jongin, as if it was all his own fault, and Jongin’s stomach twists uncomfortably, his inner omega whining. 

“It’s fine,” Jongin reassures him. “I, uh, I took a morning after pill.”

“Ah, okay. Good,” Minseok nods, looking at Jongin with earnest eyes. “As long as you’re comfortable.”

Jongin looks away, feeling his cheeks flush at the sincerity in the alpha’s voice. “It’s fine.” 

He raises his forgotten mug to his lips, taking a sip of the hot chocolate just to have something to do, the sweetness of it a little comforting, but he looks back to Minseok when he starts talking again.

“Honestly, I’m just happy you’re talking to me at all. Iー” 

Minseok cuts himself off, blinking as he stares at Jongin’s face. Then his eyes soften, a smile spreading across his lips, taking Jongin’s breath away, and he reaches out to gently touch Jongin’s chin with his fingers. 

“You’re just like a pup, huh?” he chuckles and brushes his thumb over Jongin’s upper lip. It comes away white with smeared whipped cream. 

Jongin stiffens, his heart stopping and starting again double time at the fondness in Minseok’s voice, the softness in his gaze. His lip feels sensitive where Minseok touched him, and Minseok’s fingers on his chin are warm against his skin. 

Jongin’s throat closes up, just as his chest clenches with want. Want for more of that sweet touch. Want to turn into it, see how much sweeter it can get. Want to reach out too.

It’s too much, _too much_. Minseok is too close, his scent overwhelming Jongin, wrapping around him. 

He can’t be here. 

Minseok’s smile falters as he registers the change in Jongin’s demeanour, the souring of his scent. He quickly retracts his hand, realizing his mistake, but Jongin is already stumbling to his feet. 

“I have to go.”

“Wait,” Minseok pleads. “Jongin.”

Jongin turns away from Minseok’s stricken face and walks as quickly as he can out of the café. Even as everything in him aches to go back. 

This time, too, Minseok doesn’t follow.  
  


***

  
  


“What are you going to do?” 

Jongin stops compulsively raking his hand through his hair, a ruffled mess by now, and looks at his best friend in confusion. 

“What?”

Sehun gestures at him, his scent matter of fact. “Your heat is close. Even if I wasn’t your best friend and I didn’t know your cycle, I could still tell. You smell like burnt sugar and you look… horny. Like, hopelessly so. Worse than usual.”

Jongin colours, quickly glancing around to see if anyone walking the hallway around them heard. 

Sehun is right, Jongin’s heat _is_ close. There’s less than a week left before it falls, and anticipation has begun to simmer under Jongin’s skin. It makes him restless, the growing need humming through his body making him feel wound tight. And it feels even worse now, because it seems like Minseok is all he can think about. 

The alpha’s face, his eyes, his lips, his voice is what replays in Jongin’s mind all day, over and over, making it hard for Jongin to focus or work. His scent what lingers in Jongin’s nose, the memory of his touch like a whisper against his skin. 

There’s no respite, not even at night. Jongin’s sleep is plagued by dreams of Minseok, some hot and heady, filled with the sounds of laboured breaths and whining moans, and others warm and languid, filled with soft smiles and sweet kisses, and Jongin doesn’t know which ones are the worst. 

They all have him waking up the same way anyway: riled up and with longing throbbing deep inside his chest.

It doesn’t help that Minseok is the way he _is_. Not only hot and so, _so_ gorgeous, but undeniably kind and sweet and caring and understanding. He’s proven himself to be. And all the other alphas (or betas, or omegas) just pale in comparison.

Jongin’s inner omega purrs smugly at the knowledge that Minseok is that perfect and his, all _his_ , could never be anyone else’s because he and Jongin _belong_ to each other, and Jongin is quick to shove it down in favour of focusing on what his best friend is saying. 

“So?”

“So what’s your plan?” Sehun asks.

Jongin is still confused. “My plan…?” 

“Yes, what you’re going to do about your heat,” Sehun says, stopping to look at Jongin. “And about Minseok. You’re going to tell him, right? It’s going to be even worse now that your body knows you have a mate.”

Jongin balks, looking at his best friend with wide eyes. His head starts shaking reflexively. “N-No…” he gets out. “No, I’m not... I’m not gonna tell him.” 

“Then what?” Sehun retorts, pursing his lips. “You’re going to find someone else to help you?”

The reaction is immediate. 

Jongin recoils, hard, his inner omega trashing indignantly inside him, because the thought, the mere idea of anyone who isn’t Minseok, his mate, laying with him, touching him in that way, is absolutely ridiculous. He’s got his alpha, the only one who rightly belongs with him, his very capable mate who can satisfy him in every possible way.

But Jongin doesn’t have time to respond to Sehun’s question, or be shocked at the vehemence of his own reaction, because a very familiar voice calls his name a second before the scent of distressed alpha assaults his nose. 

“Jongin!”

From behind him, a wide eyed Minseok grabs his wrist, pulling him closer as he looks warily around them, almost as if the students passing by were some kind of threat, and Jongin lets him, heart swelling in his chest at having his alpha with him, and touching him. His inner omega preens. 

“Excuse me,” Sehun interjects, frowning, clearly not pleased to have his best friend snatched by a stranger, and an alpha at that. “Who are _you_?”

Minseok starts at that, as if he had forgotten that Jongin was with company, and turns to Sehun. “I’m his alphaー” he starts to say but stops himself and takes a deep breath, toning down his scent into something more controlled before trying again. “I’m Minseok.” 

Sehun blinks, realization dawning on his face. “Oh, so that’s you.”

Minseok nods and his shoulders relax a fraction, as if relieved to hear that Sehun knows about him. He opens his mouth to say something else, but Jongin isn’t listening, his attention focused solely on his alpha as Minseok and Sehun talk. 

It’s only been a couple of days since their accidental meeting at the café, but just having Minseok near is enough to make the longing abate, the feeling of unsettlement at being away from his alpha easing with every breath of the alpha’s warm scent. 

It’s also enough to make his body come alive, Jongin’s heat feeling closer than ever as he looks at his alpha. The gray sweatshirt he’s wearing today is so well-worn and soft-looking that it makes Jongin want to drape himself over Minseok and spend hours with his face buried against his neck, lips pressed to the strip of bare collarbone that’s peeking from the collar. Minseok would let him too. He would let Jongin take from him all the comfort he needs and then when that isn’t enough anymore, he would take care of Jongin just right, just how Jongin needs it, until the ache goes away and Jongin is soothed and sated.

A whimper lodges itself in Jongin’s throat at the thought and he blindly takes a step towards Minseok, who turns to him right in that moment.

“So what do you say, Jongin? Do you have a moment? To talk alone?”

The sudden question snaps Jongin back to reality.

“I-I…” he stammers, struggling to gather his wits. God, his body is reeling.

Sehun thankfully turns to him before he can say something stupid. 

“Are you okay?” he asks and Jongin tears his eyes away from Minseok’s open face.

“Yes,” Jongin gulps with a jerky nod, swallowing. 

“Okay,” Sehun says slowly, and hitches the strap of his backpack higher over his shoulder. “Then I think I’ll leave you two alone now,” he adds, gaze turning meaningful. “I’ll see you at the dorm later, Jongin, okay?” 

He doesn’t give Jongin time to answer, instead simply giving his best friend an expectant but encouraging look before turning around to keep walking down the hallway. 

“Jongin?” Minseok mumbles, tone as careful as his scent. “Did you want to…?” he nods towards the building's exit.

Jongin bites his lip, torn. He knows it’s not a good idea to be alone with Minseok, but as he stares into the alpha’s dark eyes, he feels his already weak resolve crumble. 

“Okay,” Jongin murmurs and allows himself to be led outside by the alpha. 

The autumn air flicks at his face as they step out the doors, the sudden chill helping clearing his mind, making him realize just how heated his skin had started to become.

“I’m sorry about that,” Minseok says when they stop near a tree, its leaves already colored in orange hues, and releases Jongin’s wrist with a wane smile. “I didn’t mean to grab you like that.” 

“It’s fine,” Jongin mumbles, his arm falling limp at his side. The air suddenly feels chillier, somehow.

“I wanted to apologize for the other day at the café. That’s why I came over when I saw you in the hallway, I wanted to talk but then I heard… anyways, I’m sorry about that too, I didn’t mean to scare you away.”

Minseok’s scent is a mix of shame and dejection and Jongin’s heart clenches in his chest at the realization that Minseok must have heard what Sehun said about finding someone else to help with his heat, but before he can open his mouth to say something, Minseok speaks again.

“Have you been back to the café?”

Jongin nods. “I have.” 

Not only that. For some twisted reason, he’s taken to sit at that same table, somehow feeling right at home there. 

“Good,” Minseok says. “I wouldn’t want you to lose a great spot just because I go there too.”

That strikes a chord in Jongin. He hates the thought of Minseok thinking of him going to such lengths to avoid him, and he can’t bear the look on Minseok’s face, his sad, self-deprecating scent. 

“No!” he blurts out as he takes a step forward. “N-No, that’s notー I wouldn’tー”

Minseok blinks at him, taken aback by the vehemence, but a small smile stretches his lips as he watches Jongin fumble with his words, and he steps forward too.

“Alright, alright,” he shushes him, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. “I get it.”

Jongin closes his mouth, lips pursing into a pout, and scowls down at the ground, feeling stupid because of his outburst. This time Minseok does chuckle, his scent softening with fondness. 

A sudden breeze passes by them, causing Jongin to shiver in his thin sweatshirt. Wordlessly, Minseok reaches down and takes Jongin’s hands in his, making Jongin’s breath catch in his throat, and rubs them gently to warm him up.

A thrill goes up Jongin’s arms at the contact. Minseok’s hands are so warm.

Minseok must realize what he’s just done a second later, because he looks sharply up at Jongin, eyes wide, and moves to pull away, but Jongin doesn’t let him. 

He doesn’t know what comes over him, but Jongin holds onto Minseok’s hands and laces their fingers together, fear mixed with a sense of rightness settling over him with each one of Minseok’s fingers fitting perfectly in the spaces between his. 

The alpha looks down at their intertwined hands, shock written all over his face, and Jongin swallows when he looks back at him, their eyes locking together. 

Minseok moves closer then, squeezing Jongin’s hands. “Please don’t spend your heat with someone else,” he whispers, looking vulnerable in a way Jongin has never seen. 

“No,” Jongin says quietly, finding himself leaning closer to the alpha. “No, I wouldn’t. Sehun said it, but I… I wouldn’t. Couldn’t.”

His eyes fall on Minseok’s lips and a shiver goes down his spine. 

There is that pull again, the same one he felt the day he saw Minseok for the first time. It doesn't make haziness slither in his mind now, though, even with the kindling fire of his upcoming heat under his skin. It's a lot like how it felt in the café, when he'd almost thought of turning into Minseok's gentle touch, almost did too, before catching himself.

And this is dangerous. Jongin can read every emotion written on Minseok’s face. The longing, always that stubborn longing. And the want. He can feel them reflected on his own face. And he should be careful. 

One of Minseok’s hands leaves his, reaches slowly up to cradle the back of his neck. 

“Jongin…”

He should be careful.

“I have to go,” Jongin says, a choked whisper as he pulls away from Minseok’s touch, and he leaves before the scent of Minseok’s distress can compel him to stop.  
  
  
  


***

  
  


Just like Sehun predicted, when Jongin’s heat does come around, it’s like nothing Jongin has ever experienced before. 

Body burning up from the inside out, Jongin is able to do nothing but lie in bed, trembling, sweating, as the days blur into each other. 

Desire, _need_ , consumes him, unbearable. It clouds his mind and turns him desperate, calling pitifully for his alpha to come and make it better, to take care of him and make the pain go away. 

He can’t think past the yearning boiling in his veins, past the images, the sensations he’s tried so hard to shut out; all of them flooding back now, unstoppable, feeding the fire. 

The strength of Minseok’s arms, wrapping around him, holding him tight against the alpha’s chest. The spiciness of Minseok’s kisses, that Jongin in his haze can almost taste again, mouth open, lapping at thin air. The warmth of Minseok’s breath as his mouth ghosted over Jongin’s skin, the wash of his tongue against Jongin’s neck, avid and possessive, the scrape of his teeth. The stretch of his swelling knot. 

It’s agony, all of it, the memories so real, so palpable, and Jongin writhes, trashes, craving but never satisfied. 

Sehun helps him, checking up on him as often as he can in between classes, making sure he eats and stays hydrated, washing him gently with soothing touches, hands cool on Jongin’s overheated skin. At night he sleeps in Jongin’s bed, wrapped around him, the presence and scent of another omega, especially one as familiar and intimate as his best friend’s, calming, quieting the fire inside him, even if just for a little while. 

When the heat finally breaks, it leaves Jongin feeling drained, his body weary like never before, brittle almost. But after one more day spent in bed recuperating, Jongin feels ready enough to leave his room. 

His scent has mostly reverted back to normal too, thankfully. It still has that burnt quality Sehun mentioned, but it’s faint now, like a vague aftertaste that you can’t pinpoint, and Jongin doesn’t worry as he walks around the campus, into the library. 

Even if absence due to ruts and heats is excused, there’s still a lot of missed work he has to make up for and he wants to get started on it as soon as possible, but any plans of doing that fly out the window when he reaches the lines of bookshelves farther back and sees Minseok sitting at one of the reading tables, head bent over a book. 

Jongin’s heart leaps in his throat and it’s almost on autopilot how he ducks behind the nearest bookshelf, body moving before his brain. As usual, his inner omega barks at him for running away from his alpha and Jongin shuts his eyes for a moment before peeking around the edge of the shelf. 

Minseok isn’t looking at his book anymore, but rather around the room. He looks alert, almost apprehensive, and Jongin just _knows_ the alpha smelled him. His stomach knots with nerves and he feels very aware of the fact that though the lingering trace of his heat is faint and barely detectable to others, it’s undoubtedly making his scent stand out more than usual to his alpha’s sensitive nose. 

He can smell Minseok too, tendrils of spice wafting from Minseok’s table and poking at his nose, the tangy tenseness to his scent no doubt a sign that Minseok’s inner alpha is upset at the knowledge that his omega had a heat without him. The thought makes Jongin cringe with guilt. 

He’s sure at any moment Minseok is going to stand up and go look for him, and his heart starts to beat faster in anticipation, but that’s not what happens. 

The alpha stays where he is, something a lot like resignation washing over his face, carrying into his scent, and after a moment he lowers his eyes, reaching a hand to slowly turn a page of the book. 

Jongin’s heart squeezes in his chest, but before he can do something hasty like run into Minseok’s lap to comfort him, another student appears and sits beside Minseok, Jongin only then noticing the jacket draped over the chair next to the alpha’s and the open laptop sitting on the other side of the table. 

The boy is pretty, blonde hair and a thin jawline. He has a bag of chips in his hands and he opens it, offering a chip to Minseok with words Jongin can’t hear and an encouraging smile. But Minseok wordlessly shakes his head, doesn’t look up from his book, and the smile slips off the boy’s face. He stares worriedly at Minseok and then with a sigh slides closer and presses himself to Minseok’s side, resting his chin on the alpha’s shoulder. He bumps his nose into Minseok’s neck and starts nuzzling against it, gently, in an obvious attempt to comfort him. It makes a smile appear on Minseok’s face, albeit small. 

Something ugly flares up in Jongin’s guts as he watches, fingers clenched around the edge of the bookshelf. The sight of this boy, perhaps another _omega_ , rubbing himself on his mate like that, leaving his strange _scent_ all over him makes Jongin see red, makes him livid with irrational rage, a jealousy and possessiveness so hot it makes his blood boil, inner omega baring its teeth. 

He doesn’t register the low, rumbling sound rising through the quiet of the library, not until he catches the scandalized look a girl walking down the same aisle throws at him. And when he does register it, his vibrating chest and clenched jaw inform him that the sound is actually coming from _him_. 

Because he’s _growling_. 

The realization is like a slap to the face, hard enough to snap him out of this unreasonable fury, and awareness of exactly what he’s doing crashes over him. Watching Minseok like a creeper, hidden behind a library shelf, growling possessively as if he has any right to do so. 

Ashamed, Jongin smothers his growl, forcing his jaw to unclench, and heads for the exit as fast as he can, trying hard to swallow around the lump in his throat. 

  
  


***

  
  


Jongin is fighting sleep. And losing. 

Students trickle slowly into the lecture hall, Jongin can see them carrying cups of coffee through his heavy-lidded eyes, cheek in hand. 

He had almost caved too earlier, as he zombied his way through campus. Coffee would have surely helped him get through this damn eight am class, but the prospect of pouring that nasty liquid down his throat and then later having to spend the entire night awake had made him see reason again pretty quick. 

Jongin needs sleep, badly. The dark circles under his eyes can attest to that. Too bad his mind isn’t of the same opinion. And it’s gotten louder, lately. Jongin manages to sleep a total of three hours per night now. The rest is spent awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking of _Minseok_. 

He’s chosen a seat at the back of the hall, fairly hidden from the professor’s desk. He usually prefers to sit in the middle in class, but it’s a matter of necessity now. This way, if he does end up dozing off at his desk, he at least won’t give a horrible first impression on the literal first day of the course.

Students keep coming and the hall gets fuller, but Jongin doesn’t notice, his mind drifting, eyes drooping of their own accord, when something tickles his nose on his next inhale.

Something nice, that tugs at him, making a welcoming warmth curl inside him, and in his drowsy state, makes him relax and give a sigh. 

It’s rich... getting closer… spicy.

Spicy… 

Jongin jolts upright in his chair, eyes flying open. He whips his head around and Minseok is there, standing by the desk. 

The alpha looks uncomfortable, looking at Jongin with cautious eyes, and he hesitates a second before pulling out the chair and sitting down next to him.

Jongin’s heart feels like it might beat out of his chest, just as the by now ever present tightness inside him eases. It's a strange feeling. 

Forcing his eyes away from Minseok’s face, he darts them around the room and sees that all the other seats are taken. 

This is some kind of twisted joke. It must be, because what are the chances of Minseok attending the same class? And yet… 

Jongin’s inner omega rejoices at the promise of seeing the alpha more often, sharing the desk through a whole semester because no way is he going to let someone else sit with his mate when Jongin is clearly the _obvious_ choice. 

Smothering his obnoxious inner omega, Jongin looks back to Minseok, their eyes meeting once again, and he can’t help getting a little lost in them, in how beautiful the alpha is. 

He looks tired, though. Jongin recognizes the shadows under his eyes. They match his own, like Minseok has been having a hard time falling asleep too. The thought brings a dull ache in Jongin's chest, making him want to ask, draw closer, soothe. 

God. 

Jongin drags his eyes away again, staring down at the desk. He is sure his nervousness is coming off of him in waves, Minseok no doubt able to smell it in his scent. 

From the corner of his eye, Jongin can see the alpha is still looking at him, looking like he wants to say something, mouth parted and worried frown evident on his handsome face, but he must think better of it because he eventually turns away.

Jongin expects to spend the entirety of the lecture a tense mess, eyes down, sitting still and rigid in his chair, not hearing a word the professor says, but he couldn’t be more wrong about that.

Minseok’s presence is impossible to ignore. His scent wraps around him like a warm blanket, filling his nose, his head, making him feel so safe. 

The tension bleeds out of him, his eyes feel heavier and heavier and he can’t find the strength to fight it anymore. 

Without realizing, Jongin starts to drift off, body relaxing until finally his eyes slip closed and his head tips precariously close to the desk in front of him. So close that it would have collided with it if it wasn't for something soft that darts out and catches him in the nick of time, guiding him up again. Jongin's eyelids flutter but the tendrils of sleep are stubbornly dragging him under and as soon as the support leaves him he slumps to the side, coming to rest his cheek against something firm and comfortable. He sighs contently and nuzzles into it, feeling safe and secure enough to let sleep completely take over.

  
  
  
  
  


“Jongin.” 

A voice pulls Jongin out of what is probably the best sleep he’s had in a while. 

He feels warm and languid and comfortable. He doesn't want to open his eyes. He’s surrounded by the smell of spice and home and it’s the best thing in the world. 

He burrows closer, eagerly nuzzling his face into the source of the warmth, pushing his nose into where the smell is stronger, breathing in deep. 

“Jongin,” the voice calls him again, more urgently this time, a weird edge to it. 

Jongin frowns, disgruntled, but eventually pulls away, wincing at the twinge in his neck as he lifts his head. 

He cracks his eyes open, blinking blearily for a few seconds, and his heart stops when his vision finally clears and he sees Minseok’s face millimeters away from his own. 

Any lingering traces of sleep dissipate in an instant, and he jerks back in his chair, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. 

The source of warmth was _Minseok_. He fell asleep on Minseok, on his _shoulder_ , and he plastered himself into the alpha’s _neck_ , just smushing his face all over it.

Jongin catches a damp spot on Minseok’s sweater, _drool_ , and feels his cheeks get hot with embarrassment, hand flying to hastily wipe at his mouth. 

God, how long was he even out? 

He hastily throws around a glance, only to find the lecture hall empty except for the two of them, and his stomach drops. So not only he slept on Minseok, but he used him as his personal pillow for the whole duration of the lecture. An entire hour and a half. 

Slowly, Jongin looks back to the alpha, mortified. 

Minseok looks strained, shoulders tense and face vaguely pinched. His scent, what Jongin had called _home_ in his half asleep state, carries a similar note. It smells haywire, but it's tamped down, like Minseok is holding it back. 

God, but he reeks of Jongin. Of his drowsy, happy scent. 

"I-I…" Jongin squeaks, breaking the silence.

"You, uh, fell asleep," Minseok says. "You almost hit your head but I, um, didn't… didn't want that so… and then you just kinda… leaned on my shoulder."

“I am so sorry," Jongin whispers, eyes pleading. “When… when did class end?”

“About ten minutes ago," Minseok answers, averting his gaze, and Jongin's eyes widen in horror.

“T-Ten minー? And you let me continue sleeping on your shoulder? Whatー what about your other classes?” 

“I have the rest of the morning free,” Minseok says with a small shrug. "And I didn't mind... you looked like you needed it." 

Jongin’s fists clench. “Oh.”

“I woke you up because I thought you might need to be somewhere else, though. I didn't want you to miss anything important.” 

“No, I, uh, have a free hour after this,” Jongin mumbles.

Minseok nods in understanding and a painful silence stretches between them. 

Jongin can barely stand it. It’s like there’s something fragile in between them, that could break at any moment. He feels desperate and reluctant to leave at the same time, but there is no reason to linger, right? 

“Well, I…” Jongin gets out, eventually, standing up slowly. “I'm going to go.” 

Minseok doesn't react to that. Only nods again, looking away, face expressionless. His scent doesn't betray anything either, strangely muted. 

It makes Jongin pause, unsure. The sight of Minseok like this, off, almost absent, makes his heart feel heavy, that dull ache slithering inside his chest all over again. His fingers twitch. 

Jongin grabs his bag. 

“Bye,” he murmurs and swallows when all he gets in response is another wordless nod. 

Ignoring the sinking feeling in his gut, he makes his way out of the lecture hall.

Minseok’s scent follows him all day.   
  
  


***

  
  
  


Jongin gets out from under his self made little mound of blankets and comforter and the thick throw blanket he had stolen from Sehun. He had thought it could bring him some comfort, to hide deep under it, but he didn’t even last five minutes before a black hole of bad emotions had kicked its way through, turning his heart heavy and the space stifling. 

He shoves everything to the side and sits up on his bed, shivering at the cold, even though the dorm heat is turned up high, and stares at nothing. 

There’s homework waiting for him at his desk, but he can’t bring himself to care, and he wouldn’t be able to focus anyway. 

He feels lost and he feels shitty and he doesn’t know what to do. 

The usual feeling of unsettlement he’s almost, _almost_ , gotten used to has grown heavier in the past few days. Since… since he last saw Minseok. 

Jongin is restless and anxious and there’s this _feeling_ he can’t shake that something is _wrong_ that is making everything worse. 

He hasn’t even seen Minseok around campus since they spoke. 

It’s been almost a week and the alpha hasn’t shown up to class once, not on Wednesday and not on Thursday, the seat next to Jongin remaining empty from the beginning of the lecture to the end. 

Whenever the classroom door opens, Jongin’s eyes dart to it but it’s never Minseok who slips inside. And every time, Jongin’s heart leaps, only to come crashing right down again in disappointment, like a stupid drop tower. 

Jongin has kept an eye out for the alpha at the café too, and at the library, but all for nothing. He can’t even smell him in the hallways. It’s just not right and it makes Jongin apprehensive. 

“What is it?” 

Sehun’s voice pulls Jongin out of himself. 

His best friend is lying on his bed, laptop open in front of him with a code for his data science class, but he’s not looking at the screen, knowing eyes fixed on Jongin. 

“Nothing,” Jongin says, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. 

It doesn’t work.

“I can smell you,” Sehun rebuts, quick. “Is this about Minseok?” he probes.

Jongin’s heart jumps in his chest at the mention of the alpha’s name, just as his inner omega perks up, but Jongin doesn't answer, averting his eyes.

“If you’re moping this much maybe you should just go talk to him.”

“I’m not moping,” Jongin says stubbornly, but his voice is quiet. 

Sehun levels him with a pointed look. “No?”

Jongin shrugs, hugging himself.

Sehun sighs and pushes his laptop away, sitting up on the bed with his legs crossed, his honeyed scent impatient. He looks at Jongin. “Listen, I haven’t pressed the issue too much because I wanted to give you a chance to work it out for yourself, but since that didn’t go too well we clearly need to change approach here. All you’ve been doing is running away, Jongin.”

The words aren’t harsh, but they still have Jongin's shoulders hunch under their weight. 

“There isn’t anything to work out,” he mumbles. 

Sehun sighs again and Jongin resists the urge to curl into a little ball. 

“You’re being so stubborn. And for what?” 

“Why do you overcomplicate things?” 

“I don’t,” Jongin says, frowning down at his covers. “They just are.”

“Are they really?”

“You don’t understand, itー it was so sudden,” Jongin huffs, but it sounds empty and feeble even to his own ears. He feels like a broken record. “Andー” 

“You know, everything _you’re_ feeling, I bet Minseok has been feeling too,” Sehun interrupts him. “As a matter of fact, I am sure he has. This thing happened to both of you. This is just as weird and scary for Minseok as it is for you.”

Jongin closes his mouth, stomach twisting uncomfortably, and almost wishes Sehun would stop talking. 

“And those are just excuses anyways. Things aren’t complicated,” Sehun continues. “You found your alpha and yes, the way it happened wasn't the best or ideal and I understand how it scared you but… don’t you think you’re being selfish?” he says, meeting Jongin’s eyes when Jongin finally finds the courage to look at him. “Avoiding Minseok isn’t the way to deal with this. It’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to either of you. Mating is a big thing, but I know you, Jongin, and you have this bad habit of shutting off and letting things fester in your head until they seem way bigger than they are. After the initial shock, what is there to really be scared of? Minseok is a good alpha. He has been nothing but respectful, he hasn’t pushed you at all and has let you do everything on your terms. Hell, I only spoke to him for a few minutes and I could see that his first priority was to ensure your comfort and wellbeing. He doesn’t deserve to be shunned, right?” he murmurs, expression earnest and encouraging.

Jongin chews on his lip, feeling small and mean, Sehun’s words echoing in his head. 

He might not always like it, but Sehun is good at this. He remains calm and level, almost practical, even if Jongin exasperates him sometimes. He faces the facts and tells them as they are, in his own tender way. And it may be a hard pill to swallow now, but Jongin knows that his best friend is right. Sehun has been right from the start while he's been so, _so_ wrong. 

Jongin _has_ been selfish. He’s chosen to run away from an unexpected, complicated situation and turned his back on the one person who could understand, the one person who had gone through the exact same thing and who was willing to figure out with Jongin where to go from there. This thing that happened had affected Minseok too and Jongin has not even given them a chance to work this out together, like the alpha so clearly has been wanting.

He’s made Minseok chase after him all this time, and for what? To avoid toeing the line, avoid facing the unknown and keep himself inside a flimsy bubble of false security, while in actuality, he’s been nothing but miserable. 

And he doesn’t even want to think about how bad Minseok has been feeling, how much Jongin has hurt him, pushing him away like that over and over. 

The alpha didn’t deserve to be treated like this. 

“Would…” Jongin gets out at last, as all these thoughts crowd in his head, his voice just shy of a whisper. “Would he even want to see me now?”

He doesn’t want to say it out loud, but the fear is very much there. What if Jongin has pushed him too hard? What if it’s too late? An awful feeling grips at his heart at the thought of Minseok giving up on him. Jongin wouldn’t blame him, though…

“Of course he will,” Sehun reassures him. “He’s your alpha, after all.”

Jongin isn’t so sure about that, but a little warmth curls inside his chest nonetheless. His alpha. Yeah.

Jongin has to find him, and talk to him. At the very least, he owes the alpha an apology. 

He takes a deep, fortifying breath, and stands up from the bed.

“Where are you going?” Sehun asks, eyeing him warily. 

“To Minseok.”

Sehun stares at him for a moment, watching him as he crosses the room, and then nods, seemingly satisfied. 

“Good,” he says and turns back to his laptop. “I don’t want to see you back here tonight.”

Jongin splutters at that, face flushing, almost stumbling as he reaches for the door handle. “Shut up.”

Sehun doesn’t look up from his laptop, though his scent is tinted with smugness. “Mh mh.”  
  


***  
  
  


Heart pounding in his chest, Jongin stands in front of Minseok’s door. 

All in all, it hadn’t been too hard to find the alpha’s room, had perhaps been a bit _too_ easy for Jongin’s nerves. 

Like for omegas, the campus’ housing policy require alphas to live together in a section of dorm buildings reserved only for them. But while omegas share double rooms to satisfy their need of closeness and intimacy, alphas are required to stay in single rooms to appease their territorial instincts. The betas fall in between and have the option to choose between having their own room in the alphas’ buildings or sharing a double with another omega or beta. 

Entering the communal lobby of the alphas’ dorms had been nerve wracking, Jongin’s omega scent turning the heads of more than one alpha, but Jongin had kept his own head low to avoid eye-contact and his walk purposeful and thankfully no one had tried to approach him. 

It had been easy to figure out where Minseok lives from there. After a bit of loitering, Jongin had picked up the faint trace of the alpha’s spicy scent and had followed it like a trail up three flights of stairs and right in front of Minseok’s room, numbered 88. 

Steeling himself, Jongin takes a deep, deep breath and curls his shaking hand into a fist to knock on the door. He squirms in his spot as he waits, stomach churning, but the door remains closed, even when he tries again.

Jongin bites his lip, unsure what to do. Minseok’s scent is strong here, but that doesn’t automatically mean that the alpha is inside. The thought makes his heart stutter in fear. No, that can’t be, he _needs_ to talk to Minseok. 

Feeling a little desperate now, Jongin knocks a third time, only to let out a pitiful noise when the door still doesn’t open. 

He’s just about to resign himself to the idea that Minseok isn’t here, that he’s out, maybe… maybe even with that boy from the library, when he hears the sound of shuffling steps coming from inside.

Jongin doesn’t have time to feel joy or nervousness, because the second the door swings open he’s assaulted by a pungent, sour smell, potent enough to make his inner omega recoil. It catches him off guard and he accidentally inhales way too much of it, making him cough as he almost chokes on it, his nose burning.

He looks up and the sight that meets him makes his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. 

Minseok stands in the door, looking worn out, unkempt, exhausted in a way that has nothing to do with general fatigue. His skin is dull, pale except for the bruises lining the patches under his eyes, which are dim and rimmed with red. 

“Alpha!”

“Jongin?” 

Minseok’s voice is raspy. 

Jongin reaches for him, cupping his face in his hands as they stumble inside, the door shutting behind them with a loud sound. 

“What happened?” Jongin asks, distraught, feeling the sting of tears in the back of his eyes. “Is this because of me? Is this because of me?”

But the answer is obvious, Jongin can smell it clearly in everything that’s drowning the spice of Minseok’s scent. Sadness, hopelessness… _rejection_. Minseok is in alpha rejection and it’s all because of him. 

Minseok looks overwhelmed, eyes wide and blinking hard as he stares at Jongin like he's seeing a ghost, and Jongin is probably just making it worse by crowding him like this. He takes a step back to give him space, but Minseok grabs at him with a distressed noise that nearly breaks Jongin’s heart in two. 

He’s never seen an alpha look like this, so fragile… 

_His_ alpha. His mate. And he did this. 

Jongin closes his eyes for a moment to calm himself, swallowing down the thick lump in his throat. He needs to fix this, he needs to make sure his alpha gets better and doesn’t fall deeper into rejection. They can talk later, right now Minseok’s well being is more important. 

Closeness, Jongin thinks. Closeness and reassurance that his omega is with him and won’t leave will help. 

He pulls Minseok closer, putting his arms around the alpha’s shoulders, one hand in the hair at his nape. Minseok immediately wraps his own around Jongin’s waist, holding him tight, as if afraid Jongin would pull away and disappear at any moment. 

“C’mon, alpha,” Jongin says in a gentle voice, guiding Minseok backward towards the unmade bed. “Let’s get comfortable, just you and me.”

He makes Minseok sit down with his back against the pillows, following on his knees. He catches sight of a few bottles of water sitting on the desk beside the bed, most of them unopened, and reaches over to grab one. He uncaps it and offers it to Minseok. 

“Here.”

He admits it’s mostly for his own peace of mind, but he has no real way to know if Minseok has eaten or kept himself hydrated until now and Minseok’s lips look dry enough to make him suspect the worst.

As if to prove Jongin’s suspicions, Minseok shakes his head at the proffered water, tugging at Jongin’s sweater instead to get him to come closer. 

“Come on,” Jongin coaxes, nudging the bottle towards him again. “Drink, alpha. Please? For me?”

Minseok stops tugging at his sweater at that. He blinks up at Jongin and in the next second the water is out of his hand and up to Minseok’s lips. 

After the first swallow, the alpha must realize how thirsty he was until now because he downs half the bottle in one go. 

Satisfied, Jongin stands up but is stopped not even a split second later by Minseok’s voice.

“No.”

Jongin turns around to find the alpha looking at him with a stricken face, his grip on the water bottle tight. 

Heart squeezing in his chest, Jongin immediately climbs back on the bed, cupping Minseok’s face with one hand to pull it close against his. Minseok’s free hand clamps onto his sweater once again.

“I’m not going anywhere, alpha,” he whispers, nuzzling against his cheek soothingly. “I’m staying here, I promise.” 

The grip of Minseok’s fingers slackens, albeit reluctantly, and Jongin pulls away. 

“C’mon, finish your water,” he nods towards the bottle and stands up again. 

He goes to the window, opening it to air the room out of the unhealthy smell of the rejection, and then to the dresser he had spotted on the other side of the room, all the while feeling Minseok’s wary eyes on his back. 

He figures having his omega covered in his scent, marked and close, will help make Minseok get better faster, so he pulls open various drawers and fishes out a thin t-shirt, the cozy, grey sweatshirt he saw Minseok wear that one time, already his favourite, and a pair of boxer shorts. He strips down quickly and puts the new clothes on, Minseok’s scent permeated in them and filling his nose. 

Already starting to feel better himself, Jongin walks back towards the bed, where an awestruck Minseok is staring at him with an open mouth, empty bottle of water forgotten on his lap. It almost makes him chuckle. 

He crawls on the bed, plucking the bottle and setting it back on the desk, and then guides Minseok to lie down with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s rest now, alpha,” he murmurs. “Let’s sleep. Alright?” 

Minseok nods, making a happy noise when Jongin lowers himself on top of him, high enough so that his face is tucked against Minseok’s hair and Minseok can bury his face into his neck, drawing in big gulps of his scent, arms wrapped tightly around Jongin. 

The sun already low in the sky, Jongin watches the hues of red and orange and purple streaming through the window paint the walls, Minseok’s warm breath fanning over his skin, regulating and lulling him to sleep.

He curls his fingers in the fabric of Minseok’s hoodie, just as he's about to drift off, and silently promises to never let go.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jongin wakes up slowly. The scent clinging to the pillow and sheets is new, but it’s not disorienting. It’s just right, just perfect, the exact blend. Sugar and spice. 

He blinks his eyes open, the morning sunlight soft through his lashes. The bed and the room are new too, unfamiliar, but the warm body under him feels like home. 

He pulls back, resting his weight on his elbows, hair tickling his skin as he goes, and a small smile grazes his lips as he looks down at Minseok. 

The alpha looks peaceful in his sleep, face relaxed and hold lax around Jongin’s waist. His skin looks better than it did the night before, even if still a bit paler than it is healthy. Jongin himself feels calm, the tight feeling in his chest completely silent, absent.

He slides off the bed slowly, careful not to disturb Minseok. He shivers a little at the cold air in the room, Minseok what had kept him warm during the night as they didn’t cover up with blankets, and goes to close the window, the smell of the rejection thankfully all gone now. 

He walks back to the desk where a coffee machine sits in the corner, a little basket full of tea bags and coffee capsules next to it. A few mugs sit on the shelf above, stacked neatly on top of each other.

Neatness seems to reign supreme in the room. Everything is tidy and precise, the desk, the shelf, the dresser, the narrow bookshelf. Not a single thing looks out of place and it kind of makes Minseok look like a neat freak. It’s kind of endearing. Makes Jongin wonder what other quirks and habits there are to discover about the alpha. 

He stretches a hand to take a mug but a sudden whimper coming from the bed makes him stop short. 

He spins around, alarmed, only to see Minseok writhe and startle awake, sitting up with a jolt as his eyes dart unfocused about the room.

“Jongin,” his voice is lost, frantic. “Jongin.”

With a pained breath, Jongin rushes towards him, clambering on the bed to kneel in between the alpha’s legs, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him close to his chest. 

“Alpha,” Jongin’s voice cracks. This is all his fault, all his fault. “I’m here, I’m here.” 

Minseok clutches at him, his chest rising and falling quickly. Jongin can feel the way his heart pounds.

“I’m here, I’m still here, I didn’t go anywhere.”

Minseok pushes his face against Jongin’s collarbone. “I woke up and you weren’t there,” he mutters. His shoulders ease as he inhales deep, relaxing. “But I could smell you... I thought… I thought I dreamed it all…” he lets out a sharp breath. “But you’re here.” 

He pulls away as he says so, looking up at Jongin with a smile curving his lips, hands stroking up and down Jongin's sides, but Jongin doesn’t feel relief. All he can feel is the hole in his stomach. 

He nods, a weak thing, and sits back on his heels, looking down at the bed.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, feeling choked up. 

Minseok frowns, lifting a hand to cradle his cheek, but Jongin can't bring himself to meet his eyes.

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault, I did this to you and I’m so sorry.” 

“Jongin…” 

“I’ve been horrible to you,” Jongin shakes his head. “I got scared and I pushed you away and I hurt you and you… you fell into rejection...” his voice cracks again. 

“Hey,” Minseok murmurs, pulling him closer. Jongin lets him. “Don’t be like this now, you know I already feel better. You can smell it, right? It wasn’t serious.”

His voice is still raspy as he says this, though, and Jongin’s heart breaks just a little more.

“You could have… you could have…” Jongin lets his voice fade, feeling sick at the thought of what could have been if he hadn’t come to find Minseok sooner. His lower lip wobbles. 

Minseok shushes him, carding a hand through his hair. 

“I was so stupid, I was selfish, you tried so hard and Iー”

“Hey,” Minseok interrupts him gently, tilting his chin up. “Jongin, it’s alright. I understand why you did it, it hurt but I understand, alright? What matters is that you’re here now.”

Minseok smiles down at him, soft and open and tender, and Jongin feels the tears surge up and well over. 

A sob tumbles out, a pained sound.

“I don’t deserve you,” he cries and buries his face against the alpha's chest. 

“Oh, baby,” Minseok murmurs, resting his cheek on top of Jongin’s head. He rubs circles into his back. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” Jongin shakes his head, words muffled and blubbered. 

He knows he shouldn’t cry, it’s not fair to Minseok after everything he’s put the alpha through that _he’s_ the one being comforted, but he can’t _stop_.

“It is,” Minseok says patiently, kissing his hair. His scent weaves around Jongin, protective. “Don’t cry, my heart hurts if you do.”

Jongin hiccups against him, grip tight on the alpha's hoodie. “I reallyー really want to do thisー andー and make this work.”

Minseok chuckles. “Good,” he says and Jongin can feel him smile. “Because I really want to, too.”

It takes a while before Jongin manages to calm down, Minseok continuing to console him all throughout, stroking his hair soothingly and whispering softly in his ear. It feels like he cries out everything he’s had bottled up until now, and when the tears finally stop, Minseok’s hoodie is positively drenched. 

“Okay?” the alpha murmurs when Jongin lets him go, puffy eyed and red nosed.

Jongin nods, sniffing, and feeling much like a baby.

“Got it all out?”

Jongin nods again. 

“Good,” Minseok nods and cups his face to brush away the tears staining his cheeks. “Now listen to me, I don’t blame you, for anything that’s happened.”

“But Iー” Jongin interjects, curling his fingers around the alpha’s wrists, but Minseok firmly shakes his head. 

“I don’t.” 

“But you should,” Jongin insists, eyes wide as he looks at Minseok. “You _should_ blame me. I was selfish. And unfair. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I was hurting myself and I was hurting _you_ ,” he sniffles. “I shouldn’t have treated you like that, it was cruel of me. What happened, it… it scared me andー” he shakes his head impatiently. “I’m not trying to excuse what I did, I don’t want to, there are no excuses for that, I just… I was wrong…” his mouth twists. “I hurt you.”

“Yes, you did,” Minseok concedes, his palms warm and steady on Jongin’s cheeks. “I’m not saying you are completely blameless, you could have handled things differently, that’s true, I’m saying I understand.” 

Jongin swallows. 

“I understand, Jongin. You tried, too, didn’t you? In your own way. To make it less scary, and protect yourself. That’s okay,” Minseok nods. “That’s okay, now. It hurt, a lot, but I don’t care about all that, I care about _you_ , now, with me.”

Minseok’s expression is so earnest, so accepting, that Jongin can feel a renewed burn at the corners of his eyes, down in his throat.

“You want to figure this out, don’t you?” Minseok asks, words soft. 

“I do,” Jongin nods hurriedly, hair falling into his eyes from the force of it. “I do, I want to.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

Minseok is smiling, warm and fond, and Jongin thinks he doesn’t deserve it, he really doesn’t deserve it. 

“I’ll make it up to you.” 

Minseok’s smile widens at the determination in his eyes, affection emanating from his scent. “Yeah?”

“I promise.”

“Can’t wait,” Minseok whispers. 

He leans in then, slowly, carefully, eyes shifting to Jongin’s lips and back to his eyes.

Jongin’s heart jumps, but he doesn’t shy away. He leans in, too. Closes the gap, until their lips meet. 

A breath escapes, from Jongin’s mouth, from Minseok’s. 

Jongin’s chest tightens when their lips first slot together, Minseok’s head tilting. A first slide, and Jongin goes boneless against his alpha. 

Another breath sounds, warm against parted lips, Jongin’s throat bobbing with it, of soothed longing. 

Minseok’s hands slide into his hair, cradling the back of his head, holding him closer, tighter, but still gentle, still tender. 

Jongin clings, as their lips mold together, perfectly, sweet, sticky noises filling the air, Jongin’s heart beating fast but everything falling into place, as they kiss and kiss and kiss. 

A gasp leaves Jongin’s mouth when they pull back to breathe, chests heaving, eyes locked, a moment of wonder before Jongin makes a thin sound and leans back in for more.

Minseok is ready for him, parting his lips to let Jongin’s tongue in, obliging as Jongin climbs into his lap, accommodating him in his arms, letting go of Jongin’s hair to slide his hands down his back.

He groans when their tongues tangle together, Jongin letting slip a moan of his own at the taste filling his mouth, the addictive spiciness of his alpha, the thought of it what’s kept him up for more nights than he can count.

The kiss is so good, so perfect, Jongin’s chest swelling at being held by his alpha so intently, connected to him in the most intimate of ways, surrounded by his scent. 

He wants this, he _wants_ this.

“I’ll be good to you,” Jongin pants against Minseok’s lips, just barely breaking contact. “I’ll be good to you, I promise, I promise.”

Minseok slumps back on the bed, bringing Jongin down with him, fingers digging into the omega’s sides, bunching up his borrowed sweatshirt. 

“I will,” Jongin repeats, trying to squirm closer still, and Minseok lets out a breathy grunt when Jongin’s hips press onto his hardening cock, his scent going tangier with helpless arousal.

A spark jerks through Jongin’s body at the feeling, Minseok’s thin boxer shorts masking nothing, and goosebumps rise on his skin. 

“Alpha,” he breathes, lashes fluttering as he inhales deep. 

And really Jongin didn’t mean to, wasn’t thinking past kisses when he leant in and met Minseok halfway, but he can’t help how he gets needy, his alpha’s scent going to his head, making him want, want to give his alpha everything, want to _show_ him.

His hips roll down, meeting Minseok’s crotch once again, setting off another powerful spark. He moans into Minseok’s neck and does it again, and again, and again, Minseok’s fingers now clenched around his waist. 

“Let meー” Jongin gulps. “Let me show you, let meー” 

He pulls Minseok’s hoodie off, skating his hands down the alpha’s chest and defined abs, an unexpected discovery, and he lets his fingers linger on them, the sight and feel making heat stir in his belly. His mate is _so_ gorgeous. 

He drags Minseok’s sweats off next, along with his underwear, pushing Minseok’s hands away with a resolute shake of his head when Minseok reaches out to help him. 

He’s quick to wriggle out of his clothes, Minseok’s scent hitting his nose as it thickens, and he drapes himself over his alpha once again, face into his neck, a shiver going down his spine at the feeling of naked skin pressed together, satisfying the need to be close to his alpha at a baser, elemental level. 

He lets a hand stray between them, reaching down to wrap his fingers around Minseok’s cock, stroking slowly up and down, savouring the length, the thickness. Wetness seeps out of his hole, the smell mixing with their scents. 

“Alpha,” he breathes, right next Minseok’s ear, a mewl in his voice. The alpha’s hips buck under him. 

Jongin circles the head, languid, pulling at it, twisting his wrist, precum sticking to his fingers. It only makes him want more, and he sits up, meeting Minseok’s lidded eyes. He takes the alpha’s hand, bringing it between his legs, to his crease, and right over his wet hole. 

“I’m so wet,” he says, as he slides Minseok’s fingers inside him, three already, no resistance, his hole lax and pliant for his alpha, watching Minseok’s chest jump, his brow pinch as a strained, faint groan escapes his lips. “It’s because of you, alpha, don’t you know?”

He starts moving his hips, a slow grind back and forth, getting Minseok’s fingers to slide deeper inside with every movement. Slick makes wet, quiet sounds, dribbles down Minseok’s hand.

“It’s because of you,” Jongin repeats, voice breathier. “I want _you_ , alpha.”

His hips stutter when Minseok pulls out, hole clenching at the loss, and he watches as the alpha brings his wet fingers up to his mouth and slides them in, a low growl reverberating in his chest as he exhales through his nose, throat bobbing as he swallows, eyes intense.

A moan is torn from Jongin’s throat, a fresh pulse of slick gushing out of his hole, coating Minseok’s crotch, and his breath quickens. 

“Alpha,” he whines, and his hands tremble with need. He takes hold of Minseok’s cock, slippery in his grip, and lifts his hips to line himself up. 

“Wait,” Minseok stops him with a shaky hand to his hip. “Y-You… condom…”

It makes Jongin smile, warm affection pooling in his chest at his considerate alpha, and a little chuckle slips from his lips. 

“I’m on the pill, don’t worry,” he reassures him, the affection bleeding helplessly into his voice. “Don’t you worry about a thing, alpha.”

Minseok makes a wounded noise when Jongin sinks down on him, his cock easing inside him with a long smooth glide to the hilt, so perfect.

Jongin’s head tilts back as he moans, that same bone-deep satisfaction he experienced their first time settling over his body once again. 

He fucks himself slowly, reveling in the feeling of having his alpha buried inside him after so long, thick, heavy, stretching his walls wide. 

“You feel so good, alpha,” he sighs, eyes closed in bliss. “So good.” 

He starts bouncing faster, a little whine slipping out of his mouth. 

Minseok is puffing out growls, his body a hard, taut line under him, when all of a sudden the air seems to change, Minseok's scent being washed over by a tang Jongin has never smelled before. 

It's musky, thick, powerful, turning Minseok's arousal denser, somehow, heavier.

Confused, Jongin opens his eyes and his hips stutter to a stop when he sees the feral blood red engulfing the alpha’s eyes. 

“Alpha? You’re in _rut_ ー?” 

But he doesn’t get to utter anything more than that, because in the next second Minseok flips them over, trapping Jongin down onto the bed with his weight, and starts pounding into Jongin’s hole. 

“Good omega,” Minseok growls, voice rough and guttural. “Good. Mine.”

Jongin wails, thighs falling apart as Minseok’s cock pistons inside him mercilessly.

Slick pours out of his hole, running down his thighs, squelching loud and dirty with every brutal thrust of Minseok’s hips. 

He’s gasping for breath, his hands scrambling for purchase, trying to hold onto anything as he’s fucked into the mattress.

Desperate, almost pained noises he never thought himself capable of making fall out of his open mouth and he’s sure he’s going to lose his mind, going to fall apart.

Minseok is relentless, drilling his cock inside Jongin’s hole with a vigor Jongin has never experienced before, an animalistic intent to mark, possess, own. 

Jongin keens when he feels the alpha’s knot start to swell and Minseok growls in response.

“Gonna knot you... gonna...” he says, grunting breathlessly. “Gonna knot you... my mate... mine.”

“Alpha,” Jongin babbles, high pitched, the pleasure making him choke on his own words. “Alpha, oh god, _alpha_.”

“Gonna mark you up inside… gonna...” 

Jongin throws his head back when the knot grows too big, catching roughly on his rim. 

Minseok snarls then and shoves all of it inside Jongin’s hole with three forceful thrusts, punching wails out of Jongin’s throat with each one.

Knot locked in, Jongin spasms around it, sobbing as Minseok grinds filthy circles right into his prostate, and he comes, body shuddering as he spills all over their stomachs, white spots dancing behind his eyelids.

Minseok is still grinding his hips when Jongin comes to a few moments later, low growls vibrating in the alpha’s throat. 

“C’mon, alpha,” he coaxes, squeezing around Minseok’s knot, voice scratchy and fucked out. “Come. Give it to me.”

It seems like that’s all it takes. Minseok shudders and goes boneless as he starts spurting inside Jongin, grunting needily into his neck.

Jongin sighs as hot cum pulses along his walls, stuffing him full, so much that it dribbles out of his hole, a smile curving his lips.

He lifts a hand, the action feeling almost like an impossible feat, and scratches his fingers through Minseok’s hair as the alpha comes a second time, body shaking. 

“Good mate,” he murmurs and cooes soothingly when Minseok comes again a third time, the feeling of cum overflowing feeling filthy and wonderful at the same time. “That’s it.”

He feels light, sated in ways he can’t even describe, having all of his alpha finally inside and tied to him making pride and satisfaction buzz through his loose body.

Minseok tucks his face closer into Jongin’s neck, breathing heavily against the sweaty skin. “Mine.”

Jongin hums, inner omega purring with contentment. “Yes, alpha. Yours.”  
  
  
  
  


***

  
  
  


Jongin quickly learns that the first day of an alpha’s rut is the most intense. It’s not like with omega heats where things get bad, then worse, then better. Alphas snap into rut and get needy and feral and the frenzy breaks only on the third and final day. 

Minseok fucks him four more times that day, pressing himself against Jongin and growling under his breath as he gropes insistently at Jongin’s thighs to get the omega to open up and let him in. And Jongin obliges, happy to let Minseok arrange him any way he wants him and fuck him senseless. The alpha seems to especially like having Jongin pinned under him on his stomach, drilling into him as he gnaws on his jaw, rumbling “pretty mate, pretty mate” like a slurred mantra. 

The time spent not fucking is dedicated to either napping or cuddling, and Jongin enjoys this part just as much. 

He loves indulging his mate’s clingy, possessive instincts, who starts whining like a puppy if he doesn’t get his way, letting Minseok kiss him long and deep as they wait for his knot to go down, the alpha’s chest vibrating against him, and letting Minseok lick and scent his neck and collarbones until the alpha dozes off, either pressed up against his back or wrapped around him. 

And he loves taking care of his mate, ordering delivery food and ending up having to hand-feed it to Minseok, not without a lot of coaxing, because anything that isn’t Jongin’s sweet hole is the last of the alpha’s concerns, though it’s the most important one to Jongin. He also has to call a very smug Sehun and ask him to bring them an extra-jumbo pack of wet wipes to clean them up with because Minseok won’t even let him out of his room to get them to take a shower. 

Jongin doesn’t care though, in fact he readily indulges the alpha in this too, taking much pleasure in using the wet wipes to clean them. Not to mention how happy it makes him feel when the alpha turns docile for him, melting into pudding in Jongin’s hands.   
  
  


***

  
  


On the second day, Jongin is lying on his side playing on his phone when there’s a knock on the door. 

He begins the challenging feat of carefully extricating himself out of Minseok’s iron clutch, the alpha passed out on top of him after having eaten him out and fucked him again. Jongin had had tear tracks smearing his face at the end, stomach sporting a little puddle of cum from his two orgasms, his third one dry.

Minseok scrunches his face and snuffles into the pillow, fingers curling and uncurling around nothing, but ultimately doesn’t stir and Jongin allows himself a second to admire his alpha before climbing off the bed to go answer, wincing a little at the soreness in his hole and lower back when he stands. 

He fully expects it to be their food delivery, his stomach rumbling at the prospect of delicious Korean food. Only it’s not a delivery person who greets him when he opens the door. It’s the boy from the library. 

Shock feels like a pile of rocks dropped over his head and the feeling only gets worse when he gets a whiff of the boy’s scent. 

Sweet, with a bright flowery undertone, _omega_.

Jongin feels the hackles of his inner omega rise. An omega, the boy who had rubbed himself all over Jongin’s mate is an _omega_. And now he’s here, at Minseok’s door, when the alpha is in _rut_. 

Jongin’s fingers clench around the door handle and there’s a growl gearing up to climb its way up his throat. 

The boy blinks at him, clearly not expecting someone other than Minseok to answer the door. 

“Who...?” he starts in a confused voice, brow furrowed, but his eyes narrow when his nose twitches and registers Jongin’s scent, and the omega takes a good look at Jongin, looking him up and down. “Wait… sugary scent, pouty lips… you must be _Jongin_.”

His tone is the farthest thing from friendly there can be. In fact, he sounds pretty pissed, Jongin’s name leaving his mouth like it’s a bad word. 

“Yes,” Jongin answers, chin lifting in defiance, but the boy’s face is nothing but unimpressed. “And _you_ are?” 

“Luhan,” the boy deadpans, scent sharp with hostility. “Minseok’s best friend.” 

Jongin falters a little at that last piece of information, the tightness in his throat snuffed out. “Oh.” 

Minseok’s best friend. 

“ _Oh_.”

Luhan looks at him like he’s weird. “Yeah?” 

“I…” Jongin trails off as any and all heated feelings peter out of him, replaced by shame. What was he even thinking? Luhan is not a threat he has to fend off. The omega was just comforting his best friend, who was hurting because of Jongin _himself_ on top of that. Jongin is an idiot. “N-Nothing, I justー”

“What are you doing here?” Luhan interrupts him, craning his neck to see behind him. “What’s that smellー oh god, did he go into rut?” he sighs, sounding almost exasperated. He turns his eyes back to Jongin, and gives him a look. “Of course, you reek of it.”

Jongin feels himself flush, shoulders hunching. “I’m… I’m here for my alpha,” he says quietly.

“Ah, so _now_ you’ve decided he’s your alpha.” 

Jongin flinches at the omega’s sharp words. He deserves that. “I know I haven’t been the best mateー”

“An understatement,” Luhan scoffs. 

Jongin bites his lip, but makes himself carry on. “We talked. I’mー I’m here to stay, to… to be with Minseok.”

“You done running away?” Luhan asks, arching a perfect but cynical eyebrow. 

Jongin nods, feeling small under the other omega’s gaze.

Luhan’s eyes narrow. “I don’t like you.” 

Jongin averts his eyes, looking down at his feet. “I get it.” 

“You hurt him, you know. I’ve never seen Minseok looking so low, so… _defeated_ ,” Luhan spits out, his scent getting sourer with each word.

“I know...” 

“He went into rejection.”

Jongin’s heart squeezes in his chest and he can feel a familiar burn prickle the back of his eyes yet again. “I know…” 

Luhan doesn’t say anything for a while, considering Jongin with unreadable eyes.

“You’ll have to fix this,” he says, then. 

“I will,” Jongin says quickly, looking up at the omega. “I’m trying to.”

“You better, you’re going to be making this up to him for a while. Minseok is one of the best people I know and he doesn’t deserve to be treated the way you treated him,” Luhan very nearly growls. “If you hurt him againー”

“I won’t!” Jongin interrupts him, surprising both of them with how loud his voice sounds. He turns to make sure Minseok is still asleep, which he thankfully is, before turning back to Luhan, and he lowers his eyes once again. “O-Or rather, I can’t promise it’s going to be perfect always orー or that I won’t make mistakes… but I can promise I’ll do my best, that I’ll try my hardest to be what Minseok deserves,” he says, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks at his own words, but meaning each and every one of them all the same.

Luhan straightens up and gives him a long, assessing look, before letting out a huff. “What the hell... you _are_ cute,” he mutters, scent dampening in intensity. “Minseok’s insufferable fawning had a reason after all,” he rolls his eyes. 

“What…?” Jongin says, thrown off by the sudden change.

“Anyways,” Luhan barrels on. “I’m glad we set things straight, though you should know I’m still wary of you,” he gives Jongin another vaguely threatening look before turning to leave. “But we both know Minseok would never forgive me if I butted in at this point so I guess I’ll leave him to you for now. Tell Minseok to call me when the rut’s over.”

“Alright,” Jongin says slowly, still feeling a bit confused. There is a lot more he wants to say, not to mention how much his inner omega wants to proclaim, but his emotions are too jumbled for him to sort through them before Luhan has walked away and Jongin’s left standing there feeling a strange mix of relief and foreboding.

Eventually, he closes the door and leans against it with a sigh, relief taking over. 

That was intense. Luhan is kind of scary, even though he looks almost delicate with how pretty he is. Though Jongin understands that the omega feels protective over his alpha friend, he still hopes that Luhan will come to like him with time.

On the bed, Minseok stirs with a little whine and sits up, looking for Jongin with droopy eyes. 

A smile tugs at Jongin’s lips. 

“Alpha,” he pushes off the door to go crawl onto the bed, letting himself fall right into Minseok’s arms. 

The alpha immediately starts nipping at Jongin’s collarbone, pulling a chuckle out of him.

He sighs and cards a hand through Minseok’s hair. “I’m really sorry, alpha,” he says softly. “But I swear, I’ll make it up to you.”

He burrows closer, letting the comfort of Minseok’s proximity soothe the guilty ache in his chest.

“I’ll make it up to you.”  
  
  
  


***  
  
  


Sometime in the early afternoon of the third day, Minseok’s rut fades out and Jongin can heave a sigh of relief. No matter how much he enjoys helping out his mate, he needs the break. His hole is so sore he just knows he’s gonna be limping for a whole week, if not longer, and to say he’s in dire need of a shower would be an understatement. 

“Poor little alpha,” Jongin coos, an amused smile quirking his lips as he twirls a strand of Minseok’s messy hair with a finger. 

The alpha is spread out on his back on the bed, eyes closed, looking positively worn out. 

“Must have been exhausting, huh?” Jongin nods slowly, pouting sympathetically. “Fucking your omega to pieces, ruining him for any other alpha...”

Minseok lets out a growl, one weak hand clamping around Jongin’s wrist possessively, but it comes out pretty wheezy, so he sounds more like a fussy puppy than a big, bad, conquering alpha. 

It’s adorable.

They spend most of the day still in bed, wrapped around each other and sharing soothing touches, Jongin leaving kisses on Minseok’s neck as he runs his fingers through his hair and Minseok petting Jongin’s ass and lower back.

A little later Jongin finally manages to drag Minseok to the showers, the thankfully short walk to the bathrooms not without any embarrassment what with their recent activities being glaringly obvious. The mishmass of hickies and love bites decorating Jongin’s skin, especially, is hard to miss. Minseok holds Jongin tight against himself the whole way, right into the shower stall, growling threateningly at any alpha who so much as dares _think_ of looking Jongin’s way. Lingering effects of the rut. 

Under the warm water jet, they soap each other up, scrubbing their bodies clean and washing each other’s hair. Minseok makes comforting sounds as he cleans Jongin’s puffy hole, fingers gentle and careful, murmuring soft apologies even though he has nothing to apologize for, and distracting Jongin from the sting with heart fluttering kisses that turn Jongin weak in the knees. 

Back in the room, Jongin calls an even smugger Sehun to get him to bring him some clothes because despite Minseok’s very adamant protests, Jongin can’t keep wearing his alpha’s clothes for the rest of his days, no matter how they make him smell of Minseok. He does concede to take some of Minseok’s clothes with him when he’ll eventually go back to his room, though. But he didn’t need much convincing on that. Not much at all, in fact. The grey sweatshirt has been his since he took it out of the drawer. 

After a filling dinner delivered right to their door, they once again make themselves at home on the bed, Minseok humming as he leans his nose into Jongin’s neck, breathing in his scent.

“You smell so good, baby,” he says, a little groan etched in his tone. 

Jongin smiles, two fingers drawing mindless circles on Minseok’s nape. “Yeah?”

Minseok hums and takes another whiff. “You smell perfect… like sugar cookies.”

Jongin’s fingers stop, a piece of the conversation he and Minseok had at the café resurfacing in his mind. 

_Mine is sugar cookies._

“Oh,” Jongin breathes. “Your…”

“Favourite, yes,” Minseok says and buries his face into Jongin’s neck, hugging him tighter. “God, you’re really perfect.”

Jongin can’t move, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed, but in all the right ways.

The look in Minseok’s eyes makes so much sense now.

God. 

“Kiss me,” he blurts, tapping on Minseok’s nape with urgency. “Kiss me.” 

Minseok obliges him, all too willingly, with a smile, like he's just so happy he can do it, and Jongin puts into the kiss everything he doesn’t know how to say with words, wouldn’t even know where to begin, and it’s slow and deep and just _perfect_.  
  
  


***

  
  
  


“Wake up, baby.”

“No.”

A warm puff of breath hits Jongin’s cheek. A chuckle.

“Come on.” 

“Sleep.”

Fingers thread through his hair, Jongin tips into the touch.

“Get up or you won’t be able to grab breakfast before class.”

Jongin whines. 

Another chuckle and the fingers leave his hair, the mattress jostling as Minseok gets off the bed. 

Jongin whines louder. 

When nothing else comes, Jongin eventually opens his eyes and begrudgingly sits up, squinting to locate Minseok, who’s unplugging his phone from the charger. 

Jongin stretches, yawning, and groans at the little cricks in his muscles getting worked out. 

Jongin’s bed isn’t really made for two people to sleep in. It feels good to fall asleep curled up tight and close with Minseok at night, but there’s always an inevitable bit of discomfort in the morning. 

“My bed is too small,” he grumbles, tugging the covers higher on his bare legs. It’s cold. Worse without Minseok. “Yours is much better. You alphas get all the better stuff when you don’t deserve anything.”

Minseok turns to him with a grin, resting a knee on the bed to drop a kiss on his nose. 

“What’s mine is yours, baby.”

Minseok is always saying this kind of heart-fluttering shit. Jongin can’t even pretend to be mad in peace. 

Minseok gets off once again and goes to Jongin’s desk, zipping his backpack open to dig out a pair of track pants, putting them on. 

Jongin watches him, still very averse to the idea of getting up. Stupid eight am class. 

Minseok goes to the dresser, passing by Sehun’s empty bed, who spent the night at Baekhyun’s, an alpha he’s met in his dynamic programming class. Jongin likes Baekhyun, he’s smart and funny and gives Sehun a run for his money. Minseok knows him too, apparently.

“I gotta go back to my room to get some books,” Minseok says as he takes a familiar grey sweatshirt out of one of the drawers. 

“Hey, that’s mine.”

Minseok snorts. “Is that so?”

“What’s yours is mine, wasn’t it?”

Minseok laughs, the sound muffled as he tugs the sweatshirt on his head.

“Whatever. It was starting to lose your scent anyways. You can make it smell like you again and then give it back,” Jongin sniffs and flops back onto the bed.

“As you wish,” Minseok teases, smile evident in his voice, and grabs his backpack before making his way back to the bed. He leans over, cupping Jongin’s face with one hand. “I’ll see you later in class,” he murmurs and dips down to kiss Jongin’s lips. 

Jongin clings to him, arms locking around Minseok’s neck, and opens his mouth to deepen the kiss. He wriggles around to wrap his legs around Minseok’s waist, one hand sneaking its way in between them to slip inside Minseok’s pants.

“No,” Minseok says warningly.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Noー”

Jongin moans as he pushes Minseok’s cock inside himself, the slide a little dry because he’s not much wet yet, but good nonetheless. Always good.

Minseok groans, half of it in defeat, backpack falling to the floor when Jongin starts rolling his hips.

“Damn you.” 

It’s quick and easy, bed squeaking and breaths mingling as Minseok fucks soft moans out of Jongin’s lips, until Jongin shudders and comes all over himself, Minseok following suit a moment later, spilling warm inside him. 

Minseok lets out a heavy breath as he pushes himself up, slipping out of Jongin's hole.

“Now I’m gonna have to run all the way to my room to be in class on time.

Jongin lies on the bed, a sated smile crooking his lips. 

Minseok pulls up his pants and grabs his backpack off the floor. 

“See you later, brat.”

The door closes behind him.  
  
  
  
  
  


Jongin flops into Minseok’s lap when he finally arrives to class, almost knocking off Minseok’s cup of coffee in the process, a paper bag with a blueberry muffin inside clutched securely in his hand because Yixing is an angel and Jongin loves him very much.

“Baby,” Minseok chides, setting the cup safely on the desk. “Be careful.”

Jongin hums around his pout and huddles closer, burying his face into Minseok’s neck.

Minseok sighs, running a hand up and down Jongin’s back. “What am I going to do with you, huh?”

Jongin raises his head. “Kiss me,” he answers.

Minseok stares at him. 

Jongin stares back.

“Brat.” 

Minseok kisses him.

Jongin hums happily. 

He opens the bag and takes out his muffin, taking a bite out of it. 

“You’re getting crumbs all over me.”

Jongin swats the crumbs away and holds the muffin to Minseok’s mouth.   
  
  
  
  


It’s true that Jongin becomes a baby (“A _brat_ ,” Minseok says) when he has his early morning class, but it’s not really every time and he always makes sure to make it up to Minseok later, even though the alpha says he has no real reason to. 

Jongin swipes the keycard to Minseok’s room and opens the door, a little packet sitting in his hand.

Minseok looks up from where he’s seated at his desk. “Hey, baby.”

His eyes fall on the packet and a knowing smile quirks his lips. 

“What’s that?”

Jongin shucks off his shoes and bag and walks over to the desk, plopping the packet in front of Minseok.

“For you.”

Minseok’s smile widens and he tears off the wrapping paper.

He grins when he sees what’s inside.

“Sugar cookies? Oh, baby.” 

Jongin leans against the desk and watches as Minseok takes a cookie and brings it to his mouth, humming as he chews. 

“These are so good,” Minseok says, swallowing. “But they have nothing on the real thing.”

He turns to Jongin with a smirk and grabs his arm to tug him down into his lap and pull him into a kiss. 

Jongin melts against him, tasting the sugary sweetness of the cookie on Minseok’s tongue as it roves his mouth.

There’s a slight flush of embarrassment on Jongin’s cheeks when they pull away. Minseok is grinning.

“Now,” Minseok says, sliding his hand up the underside of Jongin’s thigh, tugging him closer in a way that makes Jongin’s stomach twist with arousal. “I think it’s time I take a little revenge for that little stunt you pulled this morning in bed.”

But before he can do anything that will divest Jongin of his sanity, Jongin’s phone rings. 

Jongin huffs, lips pursing petulantly. Minseok slides his hand lower to reach Jongin’s back pocket, giving Jongin’s ass a little squeeze before taking out his phone and holding it up. 

Jongin takes it, a close-up picture of a forehead and a pair of eyes flashing on the screen, and swipes, setting the call on speaker. 

“Yes?” 

“Why do you sound grumpy?” comes Sehun’s voice out the phone.

“Did we cockblock them?” another voice sounds, thinner than the other. 

“Are you at the dorm?” Sehun asks.

“No,” Jongin says, shifting to straddle Minseok’s lap. “I’m at Minseok’s. Is that Luhan?”

“That’s me, dumpling.”

“Are you staying the night?” 

Minseok nods.

“Yes,” Jongin says.

“Okay, cool.” Sehun hums. “I hope you aired out the room before leaving.”

“Uh…” 

Jongin totally forgot. 

“ _Jongin_.”

“Gross!” 

“Sorry!” Jongin winces, scowling at Minseok laughing silently under him. He pinches his nose. 

“I’m gonna have to use a freaking gas mask when I stop by later,” Sehun grumbles.

“You and me both, I’m coming with you,” Luhan pipes up.

“It’s not that bad!” Jongin pouts.

“That’s what you _think_.”

Jongin can _hear_ Sehun’s raised eyebrow. 

There’s a scratchy sound and then Luhan’s voice sounds suddenly clearer. “Hey, you two still game for tonight, right?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” Minseok answers. 

“Good,” Luhan says, tone smug and a little gleeful. “I need you as my wingmen.”

“How many wingmen do you actually need even?” Minseok asks.

“As many as necessary to secure success!” Luhan argues emphatically. 

“Alright, alright,” Minseok concedes with a snort.

“Luhan, that’s our order,” comes Sehun’s distant voice.

“Thank god, I’m starving,” Luhan groans. “Okay, see you guys tonight, don’t be late, bye!”

“Bye,” say Minseok and Jongin in unison and Jongin tosses the phone on the bed before slumping against Minseok. 

“It’s crazy how well our best friends get along,” he mumbles, pushing his face into Minseok’s neck. “Was it really a good idea to introduce them to each other?”

Minseok chuckles, wrapping his arms around Jongin. “You’re only saying this because they like to pick on you.”

“Exactly!” Jongin whines. 

Minseok laughs. “It’s okay, baby, you have me to defend you.” 

Cheesy. 

A smile tugs at Jongin’s lips and he raises his head. “My hero,” he purrs and wraps his arms around Minseok’s shoulders to kiss him, melting a little at the alpha’s small chuckle against his mouth.

Even with ups and downs, Jongin can positively say he’s never been happier than he is now. 

His and Minseok’s relationship had a rocky start, there are a lot of things Jongin would do differently if he could, but they’re here now and Jongin almost can’t believe how lucky he is.

He’s right where he wants to be: getting an education in his university of choice, having fun with his best friend, living life to the full with his wonderful mate by his side.

And Jongin is sure, the best is only yet to come.

“Now,” Minseok murmurs, looking up into Jongin’s eyes, predatory, hands settling on Jongin’s waist. “Where were we?” 

Jongin’s giggle rings through the room as he’s thrown onto the bed.

**Author's Note:**

> and that's it guys, happy ending!
> 
> i hope you liked this story, i tried my best,,
> 
> an alternative summary for this was "jongin's first year of university starts off with a bang. literally." lamsdndnmsamd-- nobody else laughing? ahem, okay
> 
> anyways! shout out to my beta cause she literally held my hand through the whole process and helped me a lot lot lot and i love her.
> 
> thank you guys for reading <33 i'll see you next time


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